This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 2004-0101248 filed on Dec. 3, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a front-side filter and a plasma display panel device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a front-side filter having an edge pattern enabling the front-side filter to be fixed to a plasma display panel, and a plasma display panel (PDP) device including the front-side filter.
2. Description of the Related Art
As modern society becomes more information-oriented, photoelectronic devices are advancing and being more widely used. In particular, image display devices are widely used in a variety of applications, including for TV screens, monitors of personal computers, etc. Wide screens and a thin build have become the mainstream technology for high performance image display devices.
Plasma display panels are gaining popularity as a next-generation display device to replace the CRT because of advantages in thinness, high definition and a large display. A PDP device includes a plasma display panel on which an image is displayed using a gas discharge phenomenon, and exhibits superior display capabilities, including high display capacity, high brightness, high contrast, clear latent image, and a wide viewing angle.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional plasma display panel (PDP) device.
Referring to FIG. 1, a PDP device 10 includes a case 140, a cover 100 covering an upper surface of the case 140, a driving circuit board 130 enclosed by the case 140, a panel assembly 120 including discharge cells in which a gas discharge occurs, and a front-side filter 110.
In the PDP device 10, when a direct current (DC) or an alternating current (AC) voltage is applied to electrodes, a gas plasma discharge is created, resulting in the emission of ultraviolet (UV) light. The UV emission excites adjacent phosphor materials, resulting in electromagnetic emission of visible light.
However, such PDP devices have several problems associated with driving characteristics, including an increase in electromagnetic wave radiation, near-infrared emission, and phosphor surface reflection, and an obscured color purity compared to a cathode ray tube (CRT) due to orange light emitted from helium (He) or xenon (Xe) used as a sealing gas.
The electromagnetic waves and near-infrared rays generated in PDPs may adversely affect peripheral electronic devices and cause malfunction of electronics devices such as wireless telephones and remote controllers. Thus, in order to make use of such PDPs, there is still a need to reduce the electromagnetic waves and near-infrared rays emitted from the PDPs to a predetermined level or less. In this respect, various front-side filters 110 have been used for the purposes of shielding electromagnetic waves or near-infrared rays emitted from the PDPs, reducing reflection of light and/or enhancing color purity, for example.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the front-side filter 110 shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 2, a conventional front-side filter 110 for a PDP device includes an antireflective layer 111 serving as the front surface of the filter, a near-infrared ray shielding layer 113, a neon light shielding layer 115, a transparent substrate 117 and an electromagnetic wave shielding layer 119. The front-side filter 110 has screw holes 112 at its corners and it is fixed to a plasma display panel device (10 in FIG. 10) using coupling means such as screws 114 screwed into the screwed holes 112.
Alternatively, the front-side filter 110 may be fixed to a PDP device in another way. For example, the front-side filter 100 may be glued to the cover (100 in FIG. 1) of the PDP device using a double-sided adhesive applied to edge portions of the antireflective layer 110.
Such known methods for fixing a front-side filter to a PDP device have disadvantages. For example, the former method is so troublesome because screw holes 112 need to be formed in the front-side filter 110 and many screws need to be mated with the corresponding screw holes one by one. The latter method is also disadvantageous in that application of an adhesive to the antireflective layer is not easy, taking into account the functions of the antireflective layer, that is, an antireflective function and an anti-smudge function. Further, the latter method is also problematic in that there is a possibility of detachment of the front-side filter from the cover after long term use.